


Stockholm Syndrome is Just A Myth

by ichigomatsu



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: Kidnapping, M/M, Stockholm Syndrome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-05
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-02-19 22:41:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2405552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ichigomatsu/pseuds/ichigomatsu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the governor's son, Len holds a high place in society. So high, in fact, he's been kidnapped and held ransom for 50,000. As he spends his time trapped, he learns more about his kidnapper, Kaito. Len wouldn't call it growing attached, but maybe, this man isn't as bad as he says he is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off a tumblr prompt thing. A kidnapping/ransom AU. So yeah, this was the first thing that popped into my head. I hope you enjoy because I pretty much pulled this out of my ass. I haven't written anything in a while so I decided to try this out before writing my multi-chaptered ideas (kind of like a warm up).

“Goodnight!” His mother’s cheery voice rang through the room, her smiling face peeking through the door.  Len looked up from his book, obviously surprised to see her standing there.  He pulled his ear buds out, glancing at the clock.

                “You’re turning in early?  It’s only ten.  Is something going on tomorrow?”

                “There’s a town hall meeting tomorrow morning, and you know how your father is about ‘being prepared and well rested.’” She sighed, tucking a stray blonde lock behind her ear. Len gave an understanding nod.

              “Oh yeah! I completely forgot about it…I’m not quite ready to go to sleep yet, so I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”

                “Okay!  Sweet dreams!”

                “You too.”

                She gingerly pulled the door back, and Len could hear her footsteps pattering down the wooden floor of the hallway, down the stairs, and into her room.  The silence was deafening, the only noise was of the autumn winding howling outside his window.  He stuck the ear buds back into his ear, filling the silence as he continued reading.

                All seemed well on this Friday night, but Len wasn’t aware of the danger lingering right outside his home.

 

* * *

 

 

Kaito dug in his duffel bag, counting off items.

“And I think…that’s…everything.”

_He was ready._

He took out the bottle of chloroform and the rag, sticking both in his jacket pocket.  He stepped out of the truck, and walked to the other side of the street.  He checked his watch: it was almost eleven, right on schedule.  He approached a large house; it was white in color, pillars holding up the porch roof, which prize-winning flowers in the yard.  Up on the second floor was the only light in the entire house.  _He_ was awake, just like Kaito had predicted.  A toothy grin etched its way on to his face, which had otherwise been a determined frown.

Kaito slipped into the first floor window (it was foolish of them to leave it unlocked), pushing the drapes out of his pathway, before finally planting his feet firmly on the carpeted ground of the living room.  He had been in the house before, and he walked in with a sense of familiarity.  He scoffed at the paintings on the walls; portraits of each member of the family, each one looking grim.  He eyed the family photos on the mantle, and chuckled; every picture was of the three of them at some political thing, whether it was a speech or the opening of some building, never at some mundane location like a park.  “ _Normal family man” my ass._

Kaito walked through the kitchen, making his way to the back door.  He unlocked it, and pushed it open, a small breeze tickling his cheeks as the cool air passed through the home.  Kaito walked through the living room again, rounding the corner to walk the flight of stairs.  He tiptoed, as he knew the steps were creaky in their old age.  His heart pumped with adrenaline and he could hear the blood pounding in his ears.  He reached the top of the stairs, and slowly made his way down the hall, to the last door.  Kaito pulled the chloroform and rag from his pocket, opening the bottle and dabbing a couple drops on the rag.  He put the bottle back in his pocket, taking a deep breath before he pushed open the door.

Kaito could see Len.  He was sitting in his office chair, back turned and face down, and from what Kaito could tell, he was blasting music from his headphones; life didn’t get more convenient than this.  Kaito slowly creeped up behind Len, careful not to trip on the various clothes and items littering the floor.  As soon as Kaito made it directly behind Len, he hooked his arm around his neck, pulled him back, and forced the boy to stand up, abandoning the (now spinning) chair.  Len was now sputtering and clawing at Kaito’s arm, and Kaito brought the rag up to Len’s mouth before Len could say anything.  All he needed were six deep breaths to knock the boy out, and within ten seconds he could feel his body go limp. 

Kaito slugged Len over his shoulder, clicking off the lights and shutting the door.  He left the house, dumping Len on the back seat of the truck.  He searched through his duffel bag to find two plastic zip ties and duct tape.  He tied Len’s hands behind his back, and tied his ankles together, and put a strip of the tape over his mouth, before climbing into the front seat and driving away.

Kaito grinned as he made his way down the street, and out of the neighborhood, then out of town onto the highway.  He had done it.

_He had successfully kidnapped the governor’s son._

* * *

 

When Len woke up, he was on a couch.  That was all he could make out.  His vision was blurry, and he had a pounding headache.  He groaned and tried to sit up, but realized he couldn’t: His hands and feet were tied, and suddenly he remembered he wasn’t at home.

Len tried to make sense of what had happened right before he had passed out.

_Someone suddenly pulled him up by his neck, jamming their forearm into his neck, and making him cough.  He was pulled just high enough that he couldn’t plant his feet on the ground, and so they jerked wildly around.  He tried prying off their arm, but they were obviously stronger than him.  The stranger quickly slapped a rag over his mouth, and whatever cries he tried to make were muffled.  The rag smelled sickeningly sweet, enough to make him nauseous, but instead he found it harder to stay awake.  His resists grew weaker, his yelling grew quieter, and he became too tired to move.  He could feel himself being carried out of his room, before he passed out._

Had he been kidnapped?  It seemed like the most likely possibility, but it didn’t make sense. _Why him?_   Len tried sitting up again and groaned in pain.  There was tape on his mouth.  As he gained his eyesight, he looked around.  A low ceiling with dingy lighting towered over him, and he could make out more pieces of furniture across whatever room he was in.  It looked like he was in an apartment.  _“They took me to their house?”_ Where exactly was he?  How long had he been knocked out?  Questions flooded his head, and he didn’t know the answers.  He couldn’t exactly “call out” to his captor, so instead he yelled into the tape until he heard footsteps.

“Ah, so you’ve finally woken up?” Len could’ve guessed that his kidnapper was male, as he was fairly strong, but he expected him to sound…buffer.  The stranger’s voice sounded slick and light.  Len looked up to see crisp blue eyes staring into his own.  He widened his eyes as he tried to take in every detail: Dark blue eyes, pale skin, Short blue hair, a tiny mole of the side of his mouth.

“You look scared…Don’t worry, I’m not gonna hurt you, at least, not _too_ bad.” The man laughed, and Len shivered. “I can explain.” He said, seating himself on the loveseat adjacent to where Len lay.  “You see, I kidnapped you for ransom, $50,000 exactly.  You are the governor’s son, aren’t you?  I’m sure he can come up with the money fairly quickly, that is, _if he wants you alive._ ”

_But why?  Why do you need that much money?_ Len wished he could respond, but the tape prevented him from asking his question.  Instead, he made noise into the tape, signaling that he had something to say.

The man looked amused,  “I’m assuming you have something to say.  But ooh, sorry, no-can-do, it’s too risky to take the tape off.  You might make too much noise and attract attention, and we wouldn’t want that, _would we?_ ”

_“I promise, I won’t yell for help!”_ Len didn’t even believe he could understand him, but pleaded anyway. 

“So, any questions?” He chuckled to himself, and the man got up, patting Len’s head before he went to exit the room.  Len began to grow frustrated; Len wanted answers, and he wanted answers _now_. Len yelled into the tape again, even fidgeting as best he could without hurting himself.

_“Hey!  Get back here!  We’re not finished yet!   I still don’t know what the fuck is going on!”_

Kaito rubbed his temples, _What the hell does this kid want?_

He walked over to the couch again, reaching over the top and grabbing Len by his hair.  He pulled Len so he was eye level with him, pulling up a knife from his pocket and holding it to the blonde’s neck.  The two were in a deadlock staring contest, neither seeming to back off.

“Listen, _kid:_ I don’t really think I’m in the best mood to put up with this shit, and since I’m not the one currently being held hostage, _I_ make the decisions, so _shut the hell up_.” _This kid had a death wish, challenging me_.  He’d been awake for no longer than five minutes and he was already pissing him off.  He threw Len back on the couch, hearing a small “umph!” as the boy fell down.

“If you don’t cause any more trouble, I _might_ let you eat soon.” That’s when Len realized he probably hadn’t eaten in _hours_.  _Why did he have to mention food…_ Len wished he could hold his stomach, but the ties didn’t allow him to move them.  He would have to wait for answers, his first priority was food.


	2. I want a sandwich

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, Len's still kidnapped, Lily has an emotional breakdown, and Gakupo regrets everything leading up to this point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> High school is a bitch and gives me no time to write, but here is the next chapter! I’d like to thank Ae123monkey for their suggestions! It got the gears turning in my brain (I didn't have a clue what the next chapter was gonna be like tbh, until they gave me help orz). Well, this is enough chit-chat, so I'll begin the story!

Len had always been known as careful.  He was prepared in everything he did.  He always made it home before curfew, set out his clothes for the next day, and even looked both ways before crossing the street.  He often judged others before they opened their mouth, but on good basis; he paid more attention to people’s actions that their words.  You could easily lie, but a single glance to the left can give you away.  Len was also known for being pretentious (how surprising). 

                Being such a particular person did have its downsides, of course, as no one liked to be judged unfairly, after all.  Secondly, he was fine-tuned to be aware of everything and everyone, to the point where worrying became a part of his everyday life.  His habits explained why he didn’t have many close friends.  Who would want to spend so much time with a person who only scrutinized them, intentionally or otherwise?  Overanalyzing was a habit, a skilled he picked up at such a young age that unlearning it (or at least masking it) was such an impossible task that he couldn’t be bothered with trying.  His calculating gaze was one that couldn’t be lost overnight.  That reasoning perfectly explained his present position, as he was walking home from school, alone.

                You would think that just being alone would put _anyone’s_ guard up, but Len had realized a long time ago there was nothing to fear.  He was never a particular target of mugging, as nothing was on him but a book bag, and he was sure no hoodlums were after his textbooks.  On the plus side, he lived in the good part of town, where bad things rarely happened.

                Although on this particular Friday, he shouldn’t’ve had his guard down, because unbeknownst to him, he was being tailed.  The thought made Kaito snicker; Len was so blissfully unaware of his misdoings.  Kaito had realized by the third time watching the teen that Len would become less aware of his surroundings in a familiar environment, which allowed Kaito to be less cautious around Len, as Len wasn’t expecting anyone to be following him.  It made Kaito’s job _so_ much easier.

                By now Kaito had found the routine that Len and his family followed most days, and it really helped that his parents were barely around.  As Len walked up his driveway, Kaito decided it was time to meet up with Gakupo to go over the plan one more time. 

Kaito walked back to Len’s school, and climbed into his pickup truck as he fumbled with his phone for directions to their designated meeting place (an old diner, as Kaito didn’t want too many people listening to their exchange).  He soon started the truck, and barreled down the street.

Gakupo had always thought of himself as a good friend to Kaito; one that was supportive and uplifting, yet trustworthy and usually told him when he had a bad idea.

Kind of like this one.

It was for one reason that he was sitting in a dark diner booth in the questionable part of town with his hood up; because he was Kaito’s friend, and if he dared to say, Kaito’s _only_ friend.  He had been sitting there for fifteen minutes, during which his waitress would frequently tell him that his date hadn’t stood him up, and to give her a little more time (although he frequently reminded her it _wasn’t_ a date).

At nineteen minutes, Gakupo had reached into his pocket, and almost pulled out his phone to call Kaito whenever the blue-haired man finally came rushing through the doors.  He huffed, pulling his hand from his jeans as Kaito slid eagerly into the plastic seat of the booth.

“What took you so long?  I assumed you got caught.” Kaito had told Gakupo that if he didn’t show after twenty minutes, to call his phone, and if he didn’t answer, assume he was in trouble.  The type of ‘trouble’ Kaito could get into was a mystery to Gakupo, but he adhered regardless.

“Sorry, there was some kind of parade going on downtown, so I had to use a detour.  But I got here, didn’t I?” Kaito gave a cheeky smile, to which Gakupo rolled his eyes at.

“I’m assuming the plan is still on?” Gakupo said lowly, getting straight to business.

“Of course.  Everything is going as it’s supposed to.  There isn’t a reason not to.” Kaito replied matter-of-factly.

“That’s not what I mean.” Gakupo said seriously, trying to pull Kaito away from that lala-land he knew Kaito was still in.  “You realize that this isn’t just pickpocketing.  We’re actually stealing a human.  You understand the consequences if we get caught.  This isn’t a game, Kaito.”

“I wouldn’t have suggested this if I thought it was.”

“There are different ways to pay off debt, Kaito.  As your friend, I’ll go wherever you’ll go.  But that doesn’t mean I’ll let you do something this crazy and stupid if you’re not in your right mind.  I don’t know how I even let this go this far.  But we don’t have to risk –”

“We’re too deep in now to change our minds.  This is our last chance.  If I don’t do something soon, it’ll be too late!” Kaito hissed, obviously leaving these words as his final resolve.  Kaito wouldn’t take no for an answer.  If Gakupo didn’t want in, he could opt out.  Kaito could do his part as well. “If you don’t feel you can do this anymore, I won’t force you.  You can leave now, if you’re done with this.”

There was silence; Gakupo’s head hung low in thought.  Kaito couldn’t read him at all right now.  He couldn’t tell what he was thinking, even if they had been together for so long.  And a tiny part of his subconscious, it scared him.

“…You’re such an idiot.” Gakupo managed to mumble, with a chuckle. “You actually believe I would leave you?  Because I’ve got cold feet?  We’ve been through too much together for me to throw it all away over this.  We’ve always been together, and it’s not something I want to change now.”

“That’s what I thought.” Was Kaito’s arrogant reply, and that was all he needed to respond with.  Gakupo had always put up with him, and they’d been together through thick and thin.  He almost felt bad that he dragged Gakupo into this, but like the man himself said, they were already in too deep.

“So about this part of the plan….” Gakupo pulled out a folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket, pointing to a particular sentence on the list.

“I’m home!” Len yelled as he stepped through the door, only half expecting an answer.

“Hey!” an orange head popped out from the top of the staircase, and another, albeit with a softer response.

“Anon, Kanon, I didn’t expect you here.  Don’t you have any clubs today?” Len set his book bag on the couch, going into the kitchen to get something to eat.

“Softball got out early today.” Kanon pouted from the top of the staircase.

“The president and vice president of the literature club were preoccupied with other business, so the meeting was cancelled.” Anon shrugged, already pushing past Kanon to follow her older brother into the kitchen.

“Mind if I make us some sandwiches?” she asked, already getting out the bread and peanut butter.

“Sure.” Len called, “Hey Kanon!  Want us to make anything?”

“Nah, I’ll wait till dinner.” She said, bounding up the stairs.

“’Kay!” Anon called back, and Kanon left the two of them eating their sandwiches in comfortable silence.

Len groaned.  He had been waiting for his kidnapper to come back.  He couldn’t wait any longer for food.

 _“I promise I’ll be quiet!  Just let me eat!”_ he yelled into the tape, although he knew no one could understand him.  His capturer did come back into the room, with that shit-eating grin on his face.

“Oh, are you willing to comply with my orders?” Len nodded. “So, if I feed you, will you promise to be quiet?” Len nodded his head vigorously.  He’d do _anything_ now, even shut up.  The man left again, and returned with a plate in hand.  As he set down the plate, Len could see it was a sandwich.  He outwardly groaned.

The man peeled the tape off his mouth, which he did surprisingly gently.  Len let out a sigh, but said nothing, all but lunging at the food being brought to his mouth.  He devoured it all in record time, ignoring the man’s chuckle as he got up again.  He came back with duct tape, and sealed Len’s mouth again. _I guess he can’t be too cautious_ Len thought, and let him cover his mouth again without a fight.

The man left Len to himself, yet again.  _What could he even be doing back there?_   Len wasn’t quite sure (he didn’t have a clue), but was too afraid to ask where he went, and let it be a mystery.  He couldn’t risk getting in an argument and getting hurt.

What would be the point of fighting, anyway?  If by some _miracle_ he would be able to escape, he wouldn’t know where he was, or how to get home, and didn’t have any money or a cellphone on him; he’d have a better chance staying alive here than if he ran away.  At least it was warm and there was guaranteed food and shelter.

Len was being held for ransom, he knew that.  It’d only be a fair trade if he were alive when given back, or _if_ given back.  This man could easily just take his dad’s money and decide to keep him here, but what would be the point in keeping him?  Len didn’t know enough about this man to make a claim like that, but what else did he have to work with?  All he knew was that this man had kidnapped him, and was currently holding him for ransom.  That wasn’t much to work with.  He didn’t even know his name, and he doubted very seriously he’d voluntarily admit it, unless he was cocky enough (even if  he was pretty damn sure of that).

There was no point in trying to decipher this anyway, what would that do for Len?  It wouldn’t help him escape, and it certainly couldn’t help the police.

All he could do was wait.

“I don’t know hun, I’m worried, we haven’t heard from him all day, it’s getting kind of late…”

“It’s only seven-thirty Lily, that’s not even close to curfew.” He rolled his eyes as he flipped through channels.

“But he’s been gone all day –“

“He’s seventeen, he can take care of himself.” All he wanted to do was relax, especially after doing nothing but _smile_ all day.  It was tiring. Leon ran his hand through his hair.

“Normally he’d tell us where he’s going before just, just _disappearing_ like this!” Lily furiously scrubbed the dish in her hand, as her pent up frustration began to show.

“If you’re so concerned, why don’t you call him?” Leon called from the living room.  He did not have the energy to deal with her paranoia today.

“Well I will!” she dried her hand on the dishtowel before walking over to the landline and hurriedly punching in her son’s number.  She impatiently tapped her foot as the phone ring, already making a mental list on reasons to chew him out when he picked up.

Or _if_ he would pick up; the phone only rang, and Lily wasn’t sure whether to feel concerned or furious when it went to voicemail.  She gingerly placed the phone on the receiver.

“Leon, he didn’t pick up.” She didn’t yell it.  She didn’t hiss it.  She didn’t cry it out.  She whispered it, loud enough for only her to hear.

“Leon, he didn’t pick up.” She repeated, louder.

“Just wait until after curfew to get worked up.  Take it easy Lily.” He responded from the living room, too engrossed in his mediocre action film to actively console his wife.  “Just get Anon or Kanon to call him.  He probably thinks you’re angry at him already and won’t answer the phone.” He added when she didn’t respond.

“Anon!” Lily called out.  The twin emerged from her room with a ‘yes mom?’

“Would you mind calling Len for me, honey?  He doesn’t seem to be answering to the house phone.”

“Sure.” Anon agreed, already whipping out her phone.

“Uh, mom?” Anon said nervously.

“What is it?  Did he pick up?”

“Well, no…I can hear his ringtone from his room…I think he left his phone here.”

There was a short silence, which eventually caught Leon’s attention.  Even he knew his son was more responsible than to leave his phone at home.

“Lily…” Lily didn’t respond, only emerging from the kitchen with an unnaturally passive face.  Anon felt unsettled seeing her mother this way, while Leon couldn’t fathom what to think of her sudden change in attitude.

“I don’t know what we should do.” She deadpanned.

“Well mom…I mean, it might seem strange for him to leave his phone…but I’m sure he’ll be fine?” Anon wanted to sound confident in her words, but she didn’t even believe them herself.  Her ever-responsible and sensible brother had been missing all day and didn’t have his phone on him.  It was strange, strange enough to arouse a slight state of panic.

“Did he mention going anywhere when you talked to him last night?” Leon added, knowing that was the last time she’d heard from him.

“No…he only said he was reading and would go to sleep later.” It wasn’t much to work off (it wasn’t _anything_ to work off), but it was all they had.

“Anon,” Leon addressed, his stern voice showing his concern, “did your or Kanon happen to talk to him between last night and now?”

“I haven’t heard from him, but maybe –“

“Go get your sister.”

“Yes sir.” Anon brought back her sister, who was busy hissing that Anon had woken her from her nap.

“Kanon.”

“Yeah dad?” the girl yawned back, retying her messy ponytail.

“Len’s gone.  No one has heard from him since last night, and he doesn’t have his phone on him right now.  Would you happen to know anything?”

“Uh…no.  I haven’t talked to him.” The silence she received quickly woke her up.  “Are you telling me he’s? –“

“No,” Leon knew what she was going to say, and he was worried what would happen if Lily heard ‘missing.’ “We’re just trying to think of a more reasonable explanation.” Kanon hummed in response.

“Why don’t we trying calling his friends or something?” _I mean he doesn’t have many, it shouldn’t be that hard to find them all_ “maybe he’s hanging out with one of them or something.” Kanon added.

“Yeah…why don’t we try doing that?” Lily spoke up, for the first time in her long period of silence.  Leon could tell she was trying to keep it together, but she was falling apart.

“Lily, why don’t you rest a bit?  Me and the girls will handle this.” Leon offered, already guiding Lily to the bed room.

“Okay…just wake me when you find him.” she replied, and nothing more than that. 

After he made sure Lily was fine, Leon would get Anon and Kanon and track down his son, who he was sure was going to be in _so much trouble_ after tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD IT’S FINISHED YEEEES. I kinda hit an awkward spot at Kaito and Gakupo’s exchange, and it was really hard to write realistic dialogue, JESUS. Yeah, I ended up using Lily and Leon for Len, Anon, and Kanon’s parents because I didn’t feel like making OCs. Just to clarify Anon and Kanon are thirteen (or fourteen-ish) in this fic. Yeah. I only added them in after chapter one was published and halfway through writing this chapter. So just pretend that they existed in the previous chapter as well, okay?  
> I tried to do some backstory (as suggested by a reviewer), and I’m pretty sure that wasn’t enough backstory ARGH. There’ll be more in future chapters though, I promise we’re also gonna pretend like it didn’t take several months to write this  
> Reviews are appreciated. I take criticism and suggestions as well, so don’t be afraid to say anything, I enjoy the help!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So nothing much happens. Len is introduced to Kaito, Kaito and Gakupo do their evil thing, and Len's family discovers the horrors of being rich. Nothing out of the ordinary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to update as soon as possible! School is hectic and my time for writing isn't as much as it was in the summer (although I had massive writer's block during the summer, hence why there were no updates at all).

“Uh, no sir, I haven't heard from him all day.” Piko said into the phone. 

“Damn.” Leon hissed under his breath.  He looked to Anon and Kanon, and shook his head no.  Anon crossed Piko’s name off the short list of potential suspects.  Kanon only continued pacing.

 “…Is everything all right sir?” Piko asked, his eyebrows creasing.  Piko put down his textbook to focus his attention on the conversation.

“No, actually.  Len’s been gone all day, and no one’s heard anything from him since last night.  We're just calling around to see where he’s been.”

“Well…if he shows up here, I'll make sure to call you.  I really do hope you find him.” Piko said, sympathetically.

“Thanks Piko, we'll appreciate that.”

“Have you tried calling him?” Piko suggested.

“That’s the first thing we did.  It turns out his phone is still here.  He didn’t seem to take it with him.  All the cars are here and he hasn't spoken a peep to anyone since last night.”

"That’s really out of character…” Piko thought aloud as he pushed the bridge of his glasses up, wondering _just where_ in the world his friend was.  His mechanical pencil tapped vigorously on his knee as he thought.

“We know.  That’s why we’re hoping he’s with one of his friends.  So far that’s all we have to work off.”

“Well I hope he’s okay…”

“We do too.  And if you do happen to meet him sometime, call us immediately, okay?”

“No problem.” Piko stated, and Leon hung up.

"He hasn’t seen him either.” Leon sighed in frustration.

“We’re running out of people.” Anon deadpanned, already looking at the next person’s number.

“Kanon,” Leon called.  The girl stopped her pacing to look at her father.  “Have you thought of anywhere else he could be?”

“Not really, any place that’d he’d normally be at is already closed.  And now that we know that none of his friends have seen him…”

“Well,” Anon began, “we can’t give up yet.  Chances are at least _one_ of his friends have heard from him between last night and now.”

“But it doesn’t even look that way, Anon.  The thing is, if one of his friends hasn’t seen him, what are the chances that we would even know where he was?  We’d have nowhere to start if it turns out no one has seen him.  _Then_ what are we supposed to do?” Kanon huffed.

“Kanon, calm down.” Leon interjected.  Kanon crossed her arms as she dropped herself on the couch next to her sister. “Anon,” he said, directing his attention to the other twin, “how many do we have left?”

“…Just one.”

“God help us.” Leon muttered, rubbing his temple.  “What’s the number?” he asked, picking up the phone up again.

“Okay, it’s…”

* * *

 

_“Kaito, open up.” Gakupo knocked on the teen’s bedroom door._

_“No…” the blue-haired boy called from his corner, tears he’d deny crying streaming down his face._

_“This is how it’s been for the past few days,” the blue-haired mother sighed to Gakupo.  “He hasn’t left three days.  Not since, well, you know…I’m worried for him.  He hasn’t bathed since he locked himself in there, and I don’t think he’s eating.  I just need you to talk to him.” She sounded tired._

This has definitely kept her up the past few nights. _Gakupo thought.  He wanted to reassure her that her son was going to be fine.  It was the least he could do for her, with as much as she had done for him._

_“I can get him out.” Gakupo said, “But I need him to open the door.  I can’t do it from here.”_

_“Well that’s the problem.” Alys said. “He stole every key and locked himself in there.  I think he’s trying to starve himself to death.” Her voice was laced with worry.  The type of worry a mother feels for their child when they are hurt, and there is nothing they can do about it._

_“I’ll try knocking again, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll have to force myself in.” Alys nodded; she agreed with the plan._

_“Kaito!  Unlock the door.  Now.”_

_“Why?  All you’re going to do is yell at me as soon as I open it.” Kaito sounded weak, tired._

_“Why wouldn’t I?  You’re being an idiot right now.” Gakupo deadpanned._

_“No I’m not!  It’s my fault he left!  I’m taking responsibility!  I’m not being an idiot!” What Kaito meant to say was that he didn’t_ deserve _anyone’s sympathy.  He didn’t want anyone to forgive him when Gakupo would eventually open the door (because he knew that even if he said no, Gakupo was still going to barge right through the door anyway).  He didn’t want to look at his mother’s sad face.  He didn’t want to face reality._

_“Well, it looks like he’s not going to open it himself.” Gakupo said to himself.  He looked at Alys again.  “You don’t happen to have a bobby pin, would you?”_

_“I do.” She pulled a pin from her bun, and handed it to the teenager.  “I think you can handle this from here.” Alys walked down the hall to her own bedroom, getting some well-deserved rest, knowing her son would be fine in Gakupo’s care._

_“When I open this door he is so toast.” Gakupo hissed as he jabbed the metal pin into the hole on the doorknob.  With the tiny_ click _he pushed open the door.  He walked right over to where Kaito sat sulking._

_“Get. Up.” Kaito did as he was told, and turned to face Gakupo.  There was no way he could escape him this time._

_“First, you are going to eat something.  I don’t care what it is.  It can be a goddamn cracker for all I care.  Just eat.  And next, you will take a bath, because you smell like shit.  And_ then, _we will talk.”  It was hard to keep his composure, but right now Kaito needed to be dealt with.  Kaito needed firm guidance right now.  He could save the hugs and sappy words for later._

_Kaito brushed past Gakupo, stomping down the stairs, half angry he wasn't left alone, and half glad Gakupo had the means to stop his bullshit._

* * *

 

When Len heard the door open, he wasn’t sure what to expect.  He felt it would be stupid to assume it was the police coming to save him, and drew a blank at any other possibility.

So when the door opened to reveal a tall man with long purple hair, he wasn’t sure what to think.  For a split second, he hoped that this person would help him, but judging by their reaction, he wouldn’t; when he first saw Len he looked almost surprised, but he didn’t move any closer to him, and for a second, when their eyes met, he almost looked _sorry_ , but the look went away as fast as it came as he walked out of the room to the back where the other man probably was.

So was this accomplice (he assumed) actually feeling sorry for him?  The other man had no problem controlling Len, but this purple-haired man actually felt _sympathy_ for him?  It honestly baffled Len.  Well, if at least one of his captives was relatively human, he probably wouldn’t be killed, or hurt (well, not too badly).

\/\/\/\/

“Wow, it’s really hard walking past him when he’s helpless like that, y’know?” Gakupo said as he plopped onto Kaito’s bed.  He ran a hand through his bangs, and sighed.

“I feel you, although I’m pretty sure he’s afraid of me by now.  He wouldn’t believe I felt sorry for him even if I told him.” Kaito sat at the computer, refreshing the site he was on.

“What did you do?” Gakupo questioned.  _What could he have possibly done of the couple of hours he’s probably been awake to scare him?_

“I pretty much threatened him within the first five minutes.  He wouldn’t shut up.  I can’t concentrate if he’s back there making noise.

“You did feed him, right?”

“Of course I did!” Kaito turned his chair, quite offended.  “I wouldn’t forget something like that!”

“Okay, okay.” Gakupo held up his hands in defense “Just making sure.” He peered past Kaito’s shoulder to see the computer screen.  “So, nothing yet, huh?”

Kaito turned to see what Gakupo was looking at.  “Oh, the news?  So far they haven’t reported anything, which is good.  To be honest, it’s only about nine o’clock; I don’t know if they even realize he’s missing yet.  It’s not even his curfew yet.”

“Well you can’t really tell exactly what’s going on from outside the house, but I think they’re starting to wonder where he is.  I don’t think they thought about the possibility of him being kidnapped, yet.” For the couple of hours he spent observing the outside of the household (he could only seek through the blind on the windows) Gakupo observed what he believed to have been an emotional breakdown from the boy’s mother.  Gakupo felt sorry for her too.  He could only hope she’d be okay after hearing that their son was kidnapped.

“…Do you believe we should send it now?” Gakupo asked hesitantly.

“We need to do it before they call the police, so now would be best.”

“Just…hand me the laptop.” Gakupo requested as he pulled a flash drive from his jeans.  He stuck the flash drive in, loading the software onto the laptop.

The furious tapping of the keyboard echoed in the silent bedroom.

“And…sent.” Gakupo finished, setting the laptop to the side.

“And now…we wait” Kaito grinned.

* * *

 

“Well, thank you anyway.” Leon sighed, hanging up the phone.

“I’ll take it he wasn’t there either.” Anon said, very disappointed.

“No, he wasn’t.  I just don’t understand how could he–” Leon was cut off by a buzz from his pocket.  He reached for pocket (hoping some _had_ found him).

Instead he was greeted with an email.

**I have your son**

That was the subject.  The last thing he wanted was for his son to be missing, but _this_.  _This_ was far worse than that.

“Girls,” Leon said, not looking up from his phone “I think I know where Len is.”

“Y-You do?!” Kanon jumped from her seat on the couch.

“Where is he?” Anon asked excitedly.

“He’s been kidnapped.”

“He’s been _what?_ ” Kanon questioned.

“’Your son is here with me.” Leon read “he’s safe for now, but he won’t be for long.  If you comply with our demands he’ll be back home safe.’”

“So he’s really been…” Anon started.

“That’s not all. ‘ _Do not_ call the police.  If you do, the deal is over and your son is as good as dead.  Further instructions will be sent once you comply.  You have one hour to respond.’”

“So we _can’t_ call the police?”  Kanon asked.

“It seems like that.” Anon sank into her chair, hugging the notepad to her chest.

“This person has a way of knowing what we’re doing.” Leon said.

“Does that mean they are cameras in our house?” Anon asked, looking around.

“When would someone have time to put in cameras?  And I don’t see any.” Kanon asked.

“Well, no one was in the house all day; someone could’ve broken in then.” Leon suggested, burying his head in his hands as he dumped himself on the loveseat.

“Oh god, what are we gonna tell mom?” Anon ask, running a hand through her short orange hair.

“We can’t tell her.” Leon shook his head.

“So we’re supposed to _lie_ to her?” Kanon asked, quite appalled.

“What are we going to tell her?  She’ll figure out sooner or later…” Anon was getting anxious.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, but right now we have a decision to make.

“Do we accept their terms?”

“I…I don’t know…what do they want from us…” Anon nervously glanced at Kanon.

“We don’t really have a choice.  We either accept, or Len’s dead…I just want Len back home, I don’t care how.” Kanon buried her head in her knees.

“Kanon’s right.” Leon sighed.  They were stuck between a rock and a hard place.  A deal with uncertain terms, or a dead son;  it was obvious that he wanted his son back, but what would be the cost?  For all he knew they could want Anon or Kanon in exchange for Len.  He didn’t know, and that was the worst way this deal could’ve been done.

“Whatever the deal is…” Anon spoke, “we’ll accept, okay?”

Sure she was afraid, sure she was worried, sure she was terrified that someone had easily taken her brother from right under their noses, but she didn’t care.  Anon was willing to face anything to save her brother.

“Kanon…do you agree?” Leon asked.  The girl looked up with tearful eyes, and nodded her head.

\/\/\/

“Oh look,” Kaito grinned. “They accepted.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So I updated pretty early (yay!) and while that's all fine and dandy, I made a mistake...I just happened to be on Anon and Kanon's wiki page, and I realized that I got their personalities confused ^_^ I don't know, my headcanons go against their canon, and I didn't researched enough before writing this soooo, yeah. I'm just gonna stick with the personalities I wrote.
> 
> I crave attention, so if you could, please leave a review! The feedback I get helps me come up with a new chapter, and plus a little 'I liked your story' really helps me to get motivated!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god I’m so sorry it’s been so long since an update I have no excuses for it at all. It’s just been I’ve been prioritizing other things over finishing this story.   
> In other news, this has reached over 800 views, and I’m just so happy!! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/followed/gave kudos! And I even thank people who are just reading the story! It means a lot! I just never thought this would be so popular, y’know?

The room was silent, devastation showing plain on their faces. 

                “No…No…How do we even know they really kidnapped him?  What if they’re just messing with us?” Kanon asked, timidly as she wiped the last of her tears.

                “Well, I don’t know _how_ they would’ve known Len was missing.  We only called his friends.” Anon replied, with her head in her hands.

                “But…they _couldn’t’ve_ taken him…he’s just…just… _Why_ would they take him?” Kanon was slowly losing the composure she had just ten minutes ago. 

                “They want money.” The girls looked to their father.  It had been the first time he had spoken since he had replied to the email.  There hadn’t been a response in ten minutes, and they all were feeling antsy.

                “We’ll give it to them, right?  I mean, if it’s just money.” Anon asked, trying to get her father to communicate.

                “…I don’t know what they want…whatever it is…I’ll give it to them…”  Leon murmured.

                There was another silence as the three sat in the living room, Anon and Kanon side by side on the sofa, and Leon slumped in a loveseat.

                “Someone has to tell your mother…” Leon said under his breath.  He wasn’t sure if he could do it himself, though.

                “…I could bring her in here.” Kanon volunteered, getting up from her place on the couch.  “Maybe we all could calm her down…” 

Kanon gently rapped on her mother’s door. 

                “Mom…we’re having a family meeting.” Kanon said through the wood.  There was no immediate response.

                “Mom…?” she knocked again.

“Have you found Len?” she asked as she hastily pulled the door open.

“Um…We…” Kanon didn’t want to have to answer right there with her hysterical mother staring her down.  She wasn’t sure exactly what her mom was doing while in her room, but Kanon knew she wasn’t resting.  Kanon could already see the worry lines being burned into her mother’s forehead, and her mother’s eyes prompted her to continue her sentence.

“…That’s what the meeting is about.” Kanon finished quietly.  She didn’t want to say it right then and there and have to see her mother’s face hopeful face twist to agony.

Lily flew past her daughter, straight to the living room.

                “Mom…are you okay?” Kanon asked as she followed her mother.

“No, I’m not.  You’ll understand when you have children, Kanon.  I’m very worried right now.  Scared is probably a better word.”

Kanon knew that her mother was very overprotective.  Kanon knew she meant it with good intentions, but she was just a natural born worrier.  She could remember the time she had broken her wrist playing softball, and her mother cried like she was diagnosed with cancer.  She almost forced her to quit the team.  And Len’s curfew was still considerably earlier than his friends’.

Kanon could only cringe to herself when she imagined how her mother would take the news.

The two turned into the living room, Kanon immediately taking a seat next to her sister on the couch.  Lily took a seat next to her husband.  There were exchanged, uncomfortable glances, for a short while, and it was silent.

“Leon, where’s Len?” Lily had finally spoken up.  Anon could only look at her mother with sad eyes, and Kanon let her head hang.  Leon hadn’t moved from his position since Lily sat down.

“Leon, where’s Len?” she repeated, more sternly.  Leon sat up straight, looking at his wife with sad eyes.

As a politician, he was used to giving people bad news.  And he was usually okay with people hating him for it.  But as a father and husband, he just couldn’t look into his own wife’s distressed face and just know that _he_ was the one who had to tell her that their son had been taken from under their noses.

“Leon, don’t just look at me like that!  Where is my baby?!”

“Lily, while you were in our bedroom, we got an email.”  Leon sighed, handing his phone to Lily.  The mother swiftly took the phone, reading over it frantically, silently mouthing the words to herself.  The rest of the family could only watch as she read over the words again and again, as if it would change the message itself.

“M-My baby…” Lily whispered, tears welling in her eyes.  “Of all the things to happen to him, it has to be this!” she squeezed the phone, half tempted to throw it across the room.

Lily tried her absolute best not to break down in front of her children, but it was becoming increasingly difficult.  How could she not?  Her only son was kidnapped, his life on the line –no, he could already be dead for all they know!  And whoever’s behind this could just be collecting money.  She didn’t know, her family didn’t know, no one knew.

Lily wiped the tears that were about to fall, and exhaled deeply.  She held the phone again, dialing a number.

“What are you doing?” Leon asked.

“I’m calling the police.” Lily pointedly said.

Leon snatched the phone from his wife’s hands.  “Lily, we _can’t do that_!”

“We can’t just sit here, can we?  I can’t just do that!” she asked rhetorically.  She already knew that’s all they could do; all they could do was sit and listen to whoever’s orders.

“We don’t have a choice.” Anon mumbled.

“All we can do is sit here and do what they tell us and if we don’t listen then they’ll hurt Len or maybe even kill him!  He could already be dead!  And we don’t even know what they want!” Kanon finally blurted out.  A few angry tears punctuated her remark, her fists balled up at her sides.

“Honey…” Lily sighed, more tears threatening to fall.  She opened her arms, prompting Kanon to run into her mother’s embrace.  Kanon buried her face into her shoulder, dampening the blue fabric of her mother’s blouse.

“Wh-What if…What if we never see him again…” Anon trailed off.  Lily and Leon looked over to the couch to see their other daughter silently weeping in her seat.

“Anon…we’ll…” Lily started.  _We’ll get him back_ , is what she wanted to say, but she couldn’t even believe that herself.

“We’ll make it through this.” Leon finished. 

That’s all the family really could do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy moly it’s finally finished. God that took five months…so sorry about that hehe. Right now I’m literally kicking myself because now that I’ve picked a plotline, it’s beginning to contradict what I’ve already wrote…so I might change some stuff from earlier chapters (?) if you don’t mind…  
> Ew I really hate this chapter because it’s rushed and a lil melodramatic and way shorter than I wanted it to be. I tried to take y’all’s (it feels weird typing that lol) advice as best I could! I hope it was good enough!  
> Hopefully the next update will not take so long (still very sorry about that)!  
> Also! Thank you so much for the reviews! I really love seeing them! Whether they’re opinions or criticisms! (This is probably the longest author’s note I’ve ever written sorry)


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